Saturday, February 23, 2013

Broken Wings (Angel Eyes #2) by Shannon Dittemore

Giant angels with metal
wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness.
And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the
world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side
with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her
life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from
her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking
again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl,
and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle
from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What
she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness
himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl
who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon,
Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes,
the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle
has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain
their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons
she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for this ARC.

This is the beautifully written, action packed sequel to ANGEL EYES. Told from multiple POV's, it's a powerful and tangible story of holding onto faith in the midst of brokenness and defeat. One of the reasons I tend to steer away from Christian fiction (and I am one) is because the stories come across too sugary or too "good" and that's not how life is. However, I really appreciate that Shannon Dittemore doesn't shy away from depicting the darker side of faith, that belief in God isn't a guarantee of a pain-free life and, yes, it can be really hard to hold onto faith when your questions and prayers seem to go unanswered.

The characters and relationships in this story are complicated yet relateable and my heart broke for both Jake and Brielle. I'm not usually a fan of cliffhangers because it means I have to play the waiting game but I am really looking forward to how this story ends! :)